User Reviews

I wanted to love this movie. It initially had everything - from perfect pacing to an assortment of eccentric characters. Cinematically, it's crisp and beautiful, and I enjoyed the opportunity to see some nice Swedish countryside. I like that the protagonist is a regular, plump cop, not some uber-beefed-up Hollywood superstar. The plot itself is reminiscent of such classics as "Straw Dogs" and "Deliverance," yet much more down to earth with a great deal of character development especially between the protagonist and his country-bumpkin brother.

However, the last half of the film, especially the ending, left me frustrated. I literally booed at the end because of an unsatisfactory resolution. What could have been the best revenge flick of the '90s slowly becomes a dull, lifeless disappointment. Just when you think the protagonist is about to get down with the bad guys, poof. Nothing.

I understand the director's intent. He wanted to make a statement. It just didn't work for me.

The movie makes brilliant use of one the screenplays cliché:the man who left the small town to become a cop (with a not-so-brilliant career)and comes back to find a brother ,apparently happy to meet him again and a secret (there's a bit of melodrama thrown in a solid thriller for good measure). Leif,the kid brother has a warm manner at first ;you should see him go through his mail ,cause he is looking for a wife :but he then appears rather smug and despising:" they are impressed when they learn I'm part of the Church choir".And as the plot thickens ,his behavior becomes more and more suspect and we finally see him as he is really like :an unscrupulous coward ,who is the principal responsible for a gang rape ,and the death of poor Owe , surrounded by a bunch of hateful poachers .

The poacher is rarely an important character in a movie ;in this one,they look more like paramilitaries,it's not even sure some of them realize that hunting might be murder (one of them tries to give himself up:but he won't because he would not be virile) There are enough scenes to satisfy a thriller buff :the place where the poachers hide their big game,and Erik spying on them ;the car in the lake ,which will remind you of "psycho" ;the Russian woman trying to escape;Owe ,going "hunting" with the big boys :this latter scene and many more show an unusual sense of space :the filming on location is impressive .

I'm looking forward to watching the sequel to "Jagarna" .

After seeing the Nordic Noir False Trail a few weeks ago,I made a note to pick up the first of the two films (made 15 years earlier!)in the series. Finding the adaptation of Jo Nesbo's very good book The Snowman to be getting terrible reviews, (with the director admitting that production was rushed,and saying that 15% of the script that was needed to be shot was left un-filmed) I decided it was time to go on a hunting trip.

The plot:

Returning to the small town of Norrbotten after being a cop in Stockholm for 20 years due to the recent death of his dad, Erik Bäckström joins the local police force. Joining his brother Leif,Erik Finds the village to appear to be crime free,where all the people know each other,and know each other secrets, Bäckström decides to investigate a case of reindeer poaching. Learning that the poaching has been going on for years, Bäckström tries to find out why no one has been arrested,but is told by his fellow officers not to hurt local honour. Seeing his brother Leif wide smirk when standing with a group of local thugs, Bäckström decides to hunt down the secrets of the town.

View on the film:

Going down a similar country lane as the one in Lucio Fulci's superb 1972 Giallo Don't Torture a Duckling for this very early Nordic Noir, the screenplay by co-writer/(with Björn Carlström)director Kjell Sundvall dig up the superstition and Noir distrust just below the peaceful village image. Arriving as an outsider,the writers give the dialogue thrown at Erik Bäckström a brittle crunch,where one sly hand-shake can cause secrets in the town to be lost forever. Giving an excellent twist to the genres major theme of the elite being corrupt, the writers keep the mystery of the poachers tightly linked to the dour arrival of Erik into town,which exposes the police force working with the corrupt locals,which causes any trust Erik gives to his fellow officers to leak out.

Impressively starting visual themes which would be expanded on 15 years later,director Kjell Sundvall & cinematographer Kjell Lagerroos keep track on the activates in the town with sweeping crane shots over the beautiful countryside,that close in on the sniper-fire of deceit. Peeling away at the calm appearance, Sundvall paints Erik's bitter Noir frustrations in a deep black canvas,where outbursts of violence hit the screen with a blunt force.

Hanging around each other like a pack of hyenas,all of the guys playing the local thugs give outstanding performances,with Jarmo Mäkinen making gang leader Tomme Harela a psychopathic ticking time bomb, and Lennart Jähkel seeds moments of doubt into Leif,which are unable to overcome the allure of the darkness. Currently looking like he will return for an upcoming TV mini-series in the role, Rolf Lassgård gives a magnificent performance as loner Rolf Lassgård,whose failure to catch any glimpse of happiness is drawn with a superb heaviness on his shoulders by Lassgård,as Erik Bäckström joins the hunting season.

You will stay along for the entire duration of this film if you don't mind anxious and gory/graphic content. The film shows group mentality and behavior without hesitation. I heard about the film when a youtuber showed a 3 second long clip from it. I could tell from just the framing and acting that this felt real.

I personally can't give it a high rating because of its anxiety inducing content. I'm all for suspense and graphic content if it's appropriate. But this s**t gives me anxiety. All the people and animals dying are innocent and all the perpetrators are so unsympathetic and intimidating that i feel helpless and like a bad human being for not being able to help anyone else. I like the crime aspect to this, the directing, the writing, the acting and that's from my own country. But the lack of heart in some of these characters, lack of redemption and justice and lack of strong arcs paints an unforgiving, cruel, non-rewarding, mean and sad world. Fudge this movie makes me feel bad when i think about it. It's so real at other times.

If i were to improve The Hunters i'd end it differently. I'd make it so that Erik fights his brother. Perhaps gets an answer from him where Nana is. He then turns Leif in to the police (alt. feeds him to cannibal elks because i hate him). The others are charged with crimes (or faces some consequences). Others involved (the police, the criminal's partners) are changed somehow. As the ending is now you feel like his efforts are meaningless. The village/city hasn't changed other than disliking the criminals a bit. Not all people involved has faced proportional consequences. Leif kills himself which means he gets away with everything and gets what he wants once again. Now the film's message seems to be: don't go to northern Sweden, it's corrupt, everyone hates good people, nobody changes, nothing changes, everyone are pieces of s**t, the innocent suffer, the evil wins, etc.

Could have been a fantastic movie.